The United States' decision to withdraw from battlefields, treaties and trade agreements has raised concerns among its European allies about Washington's commitment to the continent, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th March, 2019) The United States' decision to withdraw from battlefields, treaties and trade agreements has raised concerns among its European allies about Washington's commitment to the continent, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said on Monday."Now that the strategic rivalry is moving to Asia and Europe is no longer its main playground, a question mark has emerged," Parly said during remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. "It's not discouraged by the current atmosphere of withdrawal from battlefields, treaties, trade pacts, from all this web of bonds whose collective meaning is deeper the individual benefits generated by each."
Parly said Europe is worried about whether the US commitment will become perennial or go on as it did for the past 70 years.
"When the Europeans heard [last] July at NATO that unless their defense expenses move to 2 percent [of GDP], the US would 'do its own thing.' They were not reassured," she said.
In his first two years in office, US President Donald Trump has pursued a foreign policy of disengagement, ending America's involvement in international treaties, such as the Paris climate agreement, and trade agreements, as well as military operations, most significantly his December announcement to withdraw US troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
Only five out of 29 NATO members - Estonia, Greece, Latvia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - currently meet their commitment to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense, according to NATO.
